Has anyone tried to use Mike Leigh's way of filmmaking?

[CheapFilmmaking.com]

I've long been playing with the idea of using improv in, the very least, one of the films I'm planning to shoot. Its been a long struggle to look for actors that are willing to put in the work though. I'm a fan of mumblecore, although it gets grating at times to watch characters stumble around with their lines.

Also, isn't it a bit of cheat when you write down what you and your crew have improved in rehearsal sessions? Wouldn't that defeat its purpose? Just curious.

I found this great interactive theater group that does a lot of improv in their site-specific shows. They just finished wrapping their third run of a loose adaptation of the Japanese novel/film Battle Royale. Looks really interesting. http://battaliaroyale.wordpress.com/

 

[David Jimerson]

He holds long improv rehearsal sessions over many months. The actors only are told what there characters would know at any given point in the story. They are contracted to not talk to each other outside of rehersals about the project. He has a very vague story idea at the begining that gets fleshed out in the improvs. By the time he goes to shoot there is a full script and only rarely does he go to improv during shooting.

'Naked' and 'Vera Drake' are two amazing examples (among others) of the finished products. I think a number of his actors have been nominated as well as screenplays and his directing.

His actors rave about this process and seem to love the purity of the rehersals.

Anybody ever try working this way or similar to it?

I'm sort of doing that right now; I'm writing the script, working with the main actors to help develop their characters, and I'm sequestering them from each other (though not contractually) when it comes to things one character should know but another shouldn't.

I think it engages the actors, letting them help create characters they want to play; itfleshes out the characters as real, breathing people, and of course as rehearsal may well be the most neglected part of the indy filmmaking process, it helps tremendously with that, too.